


Nolan

by grethan-allmance (Sapphire09)



Series: Grethan Drabbles [21]
Category: The Dolan Twins
Genre: Gen, I'm honestly not very sure how to tag this, Maybe - Freeform, POV Outsider, Rating May Change, but maybe grethan in the future, gen for now - Freeform, i dunno, mostly this story is about Nolan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23244283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphire09/pseuds/grethan-allmance
Summary: Living live as triplets are supposed to be thrice the fun, or so the saying goes. Nolan isn't sure if such saying actually exist, or it was just someone in his childhood saying things just to placate him.For all he was born as one part of a triplet, he thought he could be born alone and it wouldn't have changed anything anyway. After all, Ethan and Grayson were the twins, and he was just unfortunate enough to be born alongside them. Really, for the most part, Nolan thought he was lucky to be born at all, considering.
Relationships: Ethan Dolan & Grayson Dolan, Ethan Dolan/Grayson Dolan
Series: Grethan Drabbles [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1276412
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	Nolan

**Author's Note:**

> A/n: a warning, Nolan here isn't really 'in-character' since the author kind of gone off the rail with the idea. Trigger warning, there is some mention on bullying and some kind of psychological stuff. They are likely wildly inaccurate interpretation, so take it with a grain of salt.

For the most part, Nolan thought he was lucky to be born at all _,_ considering.

Ethan and Grayson were the identical twins, while Nolan was the extra egg. It just so happened that the three of them were together in the womb. But, at the end of the day, he was the outlier, formed from a completely separate egg and sperm from both of them. There was a lot of complication in their birth, as all triplet-born does.

Nolan, surprisingly, was the least complicated, first out of their mother's womb and sliding easily out at 5 pounds. Ethan, being significantly bigger at 7.5 pounds, was just the slightest bit harder. But still, in just three minutes after Nolan, Ethan was born. Grayson was the hardest, the most complicated and the longest birth their mother had to endure, spanning at around 20 minutes from Ethan's birth.

(Nolan might've been born first, but he never once felt like an older brother. Ethan filled up that shoes without Nolan having any say on it.)

The three of them might be wombmates, but he didn't have the kind of relationship Ethan and Grayson has. Even growing up, looking at their baby pictures, he saw how Ethan and Grayson seemed to be drawn to each other, hands reaching for each other and barely any space between their sleeping figures, while Nolan would reach out at nothing and stranded alone at the end of the row. He didn't even need to ask Mom who was who. The two babies tangled together would be Ethan and Grayson, and the lone baby facing away from the two would be him.

It was the perfect picture of his relationship between him and his brothers, even now.

Growing up, Ethan would rather go on mini adventures with Grayson instead of him. Of course, in the beginning, they would include Nolan. After all, they were brothers. For them, the more the merrier. But, their games were always too dangerous, too scary for Nolan. He cried a lot, his smaller body couldn't keep up with them, and he always, _always cried._

Later on, Ethan would start to leave Nolan behind, dragging only Grayson with him.

"Nolan always cried and he's _slow_ ," Ethan would say when Mom asked why he didn't bring Nolan along to play with him and Grayson. "Gray keeps up and can hold me up to high places and doesn't _cry_. Nolan isn't _fun,_ he's a _crybaby_."

Mom then would scold Ethan and, to some extent, Grayson too, for following Ethan's lead. Nolan would keep sobbing behind his Mom's legs and wishing he wasn't so small. Wishing he was born to be more like his brothers. Wishing he wasn't such a _crybaby_.

(Later, Nolan would know how it wouldn't have mattered anyway.)

(After all, when Grayson cried over a silly nightmare, over dark and cramped places, over Ethan's teasing, Ethan was there by his side still, acting like the big brother Nolan should be.)

* * *

Pre-school was scary. Nolan wasn't like Ethan and Grayson, who could quickly draw in other kids and weren't shy to approach them and play with them. Nolan would rather stay behind and play on his own. After all, that's what he always does anyway. He was too shy to approach other kids.

But, other kids had no problem approaching him, and he was glad for them.

For the first time, he found friends that liked to play safe games with him, wanting to play in the sandbox instead of climbing and jumping at the monkey bars. Kids equally as scared as him to high places and liked the games Nolan liked.

Nolan liked it, having friends.

But, eventually, they have to go home. They had to say goodbyes as their parents picked them up, one by one.

At the end of the day, Nolan was alone again, while his brothers giggled and played some more of their games that Nolan can't keep up with until their mother picked them up too.

(He can see his new friends again tomorrow, the next day, every day, whenever school started. That's okay.)

Nolan liked his friends. It was easier when there was only one of him. He didn't look too much like his brothers, after all. Just similar enough to be brothers, but everyone could see the inseparable ones were Ethan and Grayson. He wasn't part of that package deal, not like them, and it made it easier for him to keep his friends as just _his_.

(Nolan only played safe games. Games that didn't get anyone hurt. Games that didn't get anyone in trouble. Games that parents felt safe for their children to play.)

(Still, when everyone left, when their friends were gone for reasons that weren't his fault, at the end of the day Ethan would still have Grayson, and Grayson would have Ethan, and Nolan would have them only because they were blood and brothers and by no means in the same capacity as they have each other.)

* * *

It wasn't like Ethan or Grayson ignored him at home. But, he knew he had nothing in common with them, besides having a similar face and the same family. He was quiet where they were loud. Calm where they were boisterous. He likes quiet, slow music where they love the loud and raps. He had more fun being in his own little world, either in books or comics, while they liked running around the woods, climbing rocks and skateboarding.

They love the sports their Dad introduced them to, while Nolan wasn't as passionate about them. Even though he did them anyway because he loved his Dad, he wasn't motivated enough to be a regular in the teams. While his brothers became captains, he was content to stay as a reserve.

He was the least sport-oriented in their family of active people. Even he knew he was the black sheep, the strange one that didn't fit with anyone in the house.

"It's okay to be different," his Mom would tell him. It was hard for him to believe her when even within the family, he was _still_ the odd one out.

As if it wasn't enough to be the only different triplet.

Though, being the different one, he didn't get bullied as much as either Ethan or Grayson did at school. He thought that was because they were the unit, while Nolan was just the extra that happen to share their last name. With how much they were moving schools, Ethan and Grayson always have that inseparable impression on people, while the lone him could go by mostly ignored. 

Sure, kids still talked behind his back. He was shoved in the hallway a couple of times. He's had drinks and food and trash thrown at his face. He's a quiet, easy target for jerks. Still, more often than not, people were also content to pretend he didn't exist. He just made it even easier, pretending he didn't exist too. He didn't talk back. He stayed silent. He didn't fight. That was his way of survival in a Hell disguised as School.

He wasn't brave like Ethan, who could talk back to his bullies. He wasn't strong like Grayson, who could stand his ground when things get physical. It didn't matter that physically, he's grown to look more and more like them, at least face-wise. Unless he cut his hair to be as short as theirs and take off the thick-rimmed glasses that hid half his face, most kids seemed to forget that there was a third Dolan in their year. It's not like he hangs with them at school a lot either.

He has friends, other outcasts that have the same hobby as him, the different kind of outcasts that Ethan and Grayson hang with. His friends like the comics he read and knew the games he playes. He likes having friends that knew more about his likes than his own 'wombmates'.

He kept his mouth shut when one of his 'friends' started following the long-popular trend of talking shit about the Dolan 'twins'. Nolan saw it as a desperate, immature attempt of wanting to 'fit in', something Nolan has long since given up. He said nothing, did nothing, and watched from his safe place, away from the crowds, as someone he called his 'friend' badmouthed his own brother.

Nolan pretended he knew nothing, heard nothing, when that 'friend' smiled and invited him for another game at his house and Nolan accepted with a smile.

(Ethan never said the words, but Nolan knew anyway that Ethan hated him for his cowardice.)

For Nolan, his way _works_. Kids focused more on the _twins_ while leaving Nolan mostly alone. After all, he was the Dolan nerd with glasses. He wasn't the popular Viner with millions of followers. He didn't even have any interest in social media, thinking how pointless it was to covet admiration or friendship from people he didn't even know and likely would never meet. He also, like Mom, was too camera shy to ever bother to make an appearance in any of their video. And, neither Ethan nor Grayson cared enough to ever get a candid of him.

It was fine. There was nothing about him that anyone could get jealous over. He was unobtrusive, quiet, and barely anyone ever noticed him.

Then, high school came, and halfway through sophomore year Ethan and Grayson decided they would move to LA and take online classes for the rest of their education.

Nolan wasn't surprised, considering how bad High School was for them. It was just a matter of time, he felt. Dad gave his blessing, but Mom was against it. To be honest, Nolan didn't think they should be in High School either. So, when Mom finally gave her reluctant blessing, it was really for the best.

( _Nolan is going to be the only sibling home soon, once Cameron goes to University, and he's not sure how to feel about that.)_

He was content in his own little bubble. It was safe and predictable. After the Dolan _Twins_ moved away, barely anyone at school even realized he existed anymore, especially when _twins_ were the name they were known for. When teachers called for Nolan Dolan, most of the student thought he just happened to have the same last name with the cocky, infamous twins that moved away.

(After all, how could a boring, nerdy guy with barely any physical ability like him be brothers with such chaotic personalities? And, they were the Dolan _Twins._ Not Dolan _Triplets_.)

He worked through High School as his brothers continued to gain more fame and recognition. They were on TV, won awards, and became internet celebrities that kids in High School would still talk shit on. 

(" _Don't you think it's unfair? All they did was doing stupid shits on camera! How can that make them famous!?" a 'friend' would say. Nolan would ignore him, as he always does while thinking why couldn't the 'friend' do more work on the group project due tomorrow and complain less about things unrelated to their trouble now, which is the project that will determine their final grade_.) 

They went on tour, going around the world while Nolan lived his life in New Jersey and kept his head down, worked part-time in his free time, intent on finishing his high school years peacefully, trying his best to bring no more trouble to his family, graduate, and get into the college he already set his sight on, hopefully on scholarship, if he can get one.

At least, that was his plan.

* * *

Dad having cancer was definitely not part of his plan. 

**TBC**

**Author's Note:**

> A/n:
> 
> [Me: I don't like adding Nolan, I like the Twins' dynamic as it is
> 
> Also me: *writes Nolan and fleshed out a whole 'new' character for him and thinking too hard on how to make it so he doesn't ruin the existing dynamic*
> 
> Me: ...fuck this shit.]
> 
> Consider this story more of my experiment. I don't know yet if I will continue this. This Nolan 'character' is surprisingly hard to write, especially since he's definitely not 'in-character' with the Nolan the twins created, but I'll just put this part out for now. May be edited in the future.


End file.
